A Question

Hakiru · May 17, 2007

I've tried to sit down and really write a book before, but for some reason I can not think of any ideas. Even more frustrating, is when I do think of an idea, I can never follow through and finish the whole book. Is writing a book really that difficult?

Wondering,
Hakiru

P.S. Don't get me wrong, I still love writing!

MelodyO · May 17, 2007

Nah, all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

Yes, I stole this. Because it was too hard to think of a new pithy way to say that writing is hard. :0)

Elektra · May 17, 2007

Writing, at least to me, is painful. I hate the process, but can't not do it, because the story and characters have to be written--they don't leave me alone until they are. Getting ideas for novels just takes some practice. Usually the best ones come when you aren't trying to think of them.

Chasing the Horizon · May 17, 2007

You know, I really didn't find writing an entire book to be as difficult as I thought it would have been. (Now whether I've written a good book is a whole other question, LOL)

For the record, I didn't start with an idea (plot), I started with characters and then just made up a plot that seemed to suit them.

When I started I never thought I get through more than twenty pages before I lost interest (since I never had before), but then I was suddenly on page fifty without even thinking about it. I guess I just needed the right characters to keep me interested. Now that I know I can do it, I think it will be even easier on my other books.

One thing I did master (which I never would have finished without) was the discipline to sit down and write every day whether I felt like it or not. I had an outline and knew what I was supposed to be writing, so I just sat down and wrote it. Easy.

Chris Grey · May 17, 2007

The hardest part to starting is figuring out what works for you. There are all kinds of ways to write, all kinds of sources for ideas, and it's really only up to you to find out what works.

Like, I get ideas from the music I listen to ("if this was a soundtrack, what scene would it play for?") and from all those little "what if" moments in my day and from "I would have done that differently" moments (like watching a movie or something and the ending is predictable or lame). The ideas themselves aren't that fantastic but I write them down and let them mix with the others ideas I've written down and you get some alchemically weird stuff that you wouldn't have thought of on your own. It's like those magnetic poetry things: you might have the word "kitten" and the word "rocket", and what are the odds you'd think of rocket-propelled kittens on your own?

Siddow · May 17, 2007

Yes, it is difficult. The best defense I've found is writing daily. Even when you know it's crap, even when you know you're just shoveling sh*t from a sitting position (thx SK), even when you think you have nothing brilliant to put down on paper (so what's the bother, right?), just start.

You have my permission to quit after fifteen minutes. If you can, that is.

Just write, no worries. Just do it! (thx, Nike)

justpat · May 17, 2007

Siddow is right, its hard work but you have to force yourself to do it everyday, because its just to easy not to. Try setting yourself a goal of a few hundred words a day, and after a while increase it. Some famous authors say they only do 1,000 words per day, so don't try to write the entire book in one sitting.

Gary · May 17, 2007

It's the opposite for me. My mind is filled with stories, but finding the best way to tell them often gives me fits.

Hakiru · May 17, 2007

Hmmm...thanks for all the replies! I will work harder from now on to become a better writer...Setting a goal everyday and writing everyday will definitely help! Thanks again!

TsukiRyoko · May 17, 2007

Finishing a book is definitely difficult work, but if you're meant to finish it, you inevitably will. Just be sure to write every day and you'll find the stamina to keep going. For now, try writing shorter stories, articles, or flash fiction until a bigger idea hits you. Not all writing needs to be a novel!

Gillhoughly · May 17, 2007

I got in contact with the local zoo and obtained permission to provide typewriters to their chimpanzee tribe.

Within a month of random typing instead of Hamlet they came up with MY latest novel!

After a quick edit it sold immediately. Publish America LOVED IT, and told me it will be a bestseller! Mirelda Blather told me so herself, so it must be true!

(BTW, she was a real sport about that monkey poo incident.)

So book writing is pretty danged easy for me!

" 'Take arms against a sea of troubles...' "
Are you nuts? That's a mixed metaphor!
Call yourself an editor? Oh, my sides.
Someone get me the number for Random House."

But seriously, you do what the others have said: write every day.

Set goals, meet them, read the 808 section of the library, and don't give up!

.

Novelist in Paradise · May 17, 2007

A writer writing a novel is an inverse cousin to an alcoholic who has stopped drinking.

It's always hard, and it's always one day at a time.

(Me personally: writing a novel is like a long download of a JPG photo. First comes the general blurred shapes and outlines, then the picture starts to become clearer, more defined shape and color, and then the final pixels snap into place. And okay, some days are easier than others, and sometimes even outright fun. But almost always I'd rather be surfing)

Willowmound · May 18, 2007

The first hard part about writing a novel, is realising it's work, not play.

Will Lavender · May 18, 2007

Willowmound said:
The first hard part about writing a novel, is realising it's work, not play.

And the second part is trying desperately to convince yourself that it's play, not work.

ccarver30 · May 18, 2007

TsukiRyoko said:
Finishing a book is definitely difficult work, but if you're meant to finish it, you inevitably will. Just be sure to write every day and you'll find the stamina to keep going. For now, try writing shorter stories, articles, or flash fiction until a bigger idea hits you. Not all writing needs to be a novel!

Yeah!!

Jamesaritchie · May 18, 2007

Easy

Writing a book is easy. Shoot, million and millions have written books. There are enough unpublished, completed novels out there, some six to seven million, that if you laid them out page by page they would reach around the world at the equator almost twenty times.

It's writing a book good enough to be published that's difficult.

NeuroFizz · May 18, 2007

Just to elaborate on what everyone else has said, writing is work. For some, it is hard work. For others, it is easy work. With experience it can shift to the easier side of work, however depending on the project, and things like life situations, it can go in the opposite direction as well. As James said, getting a story in proper shape to be published is tough work (although tough does not necessarily equal hard).

Prawn · May 18, 2007

Hakiru said:
I've tried to sit down and really write a book before, but for some reason I can not think of any ideas. Even more frustrating, is when I do think of an idea, I can never follow through and finish the whole book. Is writing a book really that difficult?

Some people say there are no rules in writing, but, here's the first rule: Butt in chair. You really have to spend the time if you are writing a book. Some people write every day (I spend at least an hour) and other don't, but to finish a book, you need Butt in chair time.

As for how to plan a big project, I'd recommend the book PLOT AND STRUCTURE by Bell. I am sure there are many other books that explain it, but I liked how the book talked about planning novel length works.

MidnightMuse · May 18, 2007

You can either do it, or you can't.

maddythemad · May 18, 2007

Writing is difficult. But so is any job, right? My suggestion is to just force yourself to begin-- anywhere, even if that means using characters from someone else's novel or borrowing a plot-- just for practice. Don't expect your first novel to get published. Just write, and you'll get better.

CaroGirl · May 18, 2007

If you're just starting and seek the satisfaction of finishing a piece of fiction, write short fiction. It's immensely satisfying to finish and polish something. Novels are hard work even if you have an idea, a set of characters and a plot. Without those elements, a novel is darn near impossible to write.

Practise by writing short fiction, flash fiction, or even just scenes that might make a novel, and you'll progress further into writing longer works. If you love writing, and your goal is to write a novel, persevere and you should get there.

C.bronco · May 18, 2007

I started several over the years. This is the advice that worked for me:
1. Write the book that only you could write.
2. Write a book that you want to read.

There's a lot of stuff in your head that you thought had no practical use. It may be integral to your story.

Good luck!

P.S. Writing is fun! Sit down at your keyboard and have fun with it.

C.bronco · May 18, 2007

Gillhoughly said:
I got in contact with the local zoo and obtained permission to provide typewriters to their chimpanzee tribe.

Within a month of random typing instead of Hamlet they came up with MY latest novel!

After a quick edit it sold immediately. Publish America LOVED IT, and told me it will be a bestseller! Mirelda Blather told me so herself, so it must be true!

(BTW, she was a real sport about that monkey poo incident.)

So book writing is pretty danged easy for me!
.

That is an AWESOME idea! You should call it Monkeyblaster and trademark the process, that way any time another hopeful wants to try it, you can collect!

SecretScribe · May 18, 2007

I didn't think I could write a whole novel, until I finally sat down and did it. Don't worry too much about the story. I started out with a very clear idea of my plot. Half way through writing the book the whole plot changed completely. My main character and his partner were still the same, but the killer had changed and the whole crime changed.

As others have said, just start writing. As you work with your characters and your idea it will develop and change.

Good luck.

Will Lavender · May 18, 2007

SecretScribe said:
I didn't think I could write a whole novel, until I finally sat down and did it. Don't worry too much about the story. I started out with a very clear idea of my plot. Half way through writing the book the whole plot changed completely. My main character and his partner were still the same, but the killer had changed and the whole crime changed.

As others have said, just start writing. As you work with your characters and your idea it will develop and change.

Good luck.

This is what's happening with my WIP, I'm finding. (It also happened with my first book; the ending didn't appear to me until I was 50 pages away from it.)

The OP says that he has a hard time "coming up with ideas"; I don't even know if you should try and come up with an idea if you're writing a novel. What you need is a kernel of an idea. Maybe you've got a character's voice in mind; maybe you've got a scene; maybe you've got a line of dialogue or a scrap of action or a tinyspeck of drama.

You take that kernel and you build a world around it.

If you're indebted to the kernel, if you really believe that it could be the centerpiece for the kind of book you would like to read, then you can put your BIC and write a book.

A Question

Waiting for love on the web

Don't Call Me Sweetheart

Blowing in the Wind

Vagrant Story

I'm super! Thanks for asking

QueryTracker

Forced into cell phone life

Grumpy writer and editor

Ah, the joys of dengue fever

Lightly salted

Everything is what it seems.

Nicole Castro

The grad students did it

Writing is finite,revising infinite

Midnight Reading

Living the dream

I have plans...

I have plans...

Everything is what it seems.